My slipped band need advice from slipped people

[Janine 0]

HI everyone, I am going to need your support like never before.

On Sunday morning I ate about 1 cup of Coco wheats then I was moving a 500 lb trundle bed down some stairs. I was using every muscle in my chest and stomach. For dinner DH got KFC. I had a piece of chicken about the size of a thimble, and about a tablespoon of coleslaw. I immediately began to slime. I could not stop the slime or the coughing and gagging. I heaved from 7pm to 5am then finally went to the ER in excruciating pain like the golf ball feeling only alot worse. My blood pressure was 215 over 70 indicating I was in severe pain.

The ER doctor on call said my lower stomach was in spasms against my pouch from heaving and with a little pepcid and a shot of demerol I would be better.

I did feel better and went home and slept all Monday. Monday night I got up and had warm tea that gurgled down. Tuesday I went to work and decided to try some applesauce I had 2 tbs, and was back to heaving, sliming and was in utter misery. I went back to the ER. I had 4 shots of demerol that made me woosey but did nothing for the pain.

They called in my Lapband doctor who gave me an immediate unfill and then a upper GI, realizing that nothing was going down and that emergency surgery was in order. He was upset that the ER doctor from the day before did not call him as soon as I came in.

I had surgery that showed 1 of my stitches had come undone and my band was tilted. But the worst problem was that the lower stomach with a main vein was logged up through the band cutting off circulation to my stomach. Essentially part of my stomach was beginning to die. He had to cut off the band which gave a good blood flow back to the vein and my stomach is fine. But I am completely devastated. I have officially lost 60 lbs, and was on the home stretch. He is not objecting to rebanding but said that often same problems will occur. I don't know if my insurance will even cover a rebanding. I no longer fit the criteria. On a good note he said my insides were totataly different then when he banded me. I had initially had fat all around my organs especially my liver and stomach. He said it was like it all melted away.

We are not sure what happened, did I strain to hard moving the bed, did I heave to much with the sliming, or did my belt loosen from not having all the fat around it(that is his idea maybe).

All I know is my little buddy is gone.

Where do I go from here??????

[GayleTX 1]

Oh, janine...hugs to you, sweetie. I am so very sorry this has happened to you! That must have been a frightening experience!

I found out just yesterday that my band is slipped but we don't know why....right know I'm on liquids for 14 days and then we'll see what happens but it will probably mean a revision. I'm 2 yrs out, have been exteremely compliant, have lost 160 lbs (with 40 to go).

I am scared.......scared of life without my badn. I have ridded my body of diabetes, high blood pressure, gout, arrythmia, etc. I can walk again and have a life again. Can I do it without my band? I hope I can but I don't want to.

I do hope you do well and that your doctors and insurance company will take good care of you.

[c7777christine 1]

That really sucks!!! I'm so sorry for you! After you heal for awhile see how you do. I had my band in Mexico for 7,500. They will do it if your bmi is only 30. Dr.Rodriques is a specialist with low complication ratio. Just a thought if you start feeling helpless and hopeless. Hang in there your in my thoughts. Hope your stomach is healing up O.K. Chrissie

[Hope4Jen 0]

Janine,

It could have been any of those variables that caused your band to slip, maybe just a bad combo. I had a stomach virus that did my band in. :drool:

I was worried that my insurance company wouldnt pay for my replacement since I am at little over 200 lbs but they did. You should give it a shot.

[GayleTX 1]

I have a friend who was banded recenlty by Dr. Rodriquez....her husband is a physician and they did a lot of research before choosing him for her LB, so that speaks well for him in my books. If I have to have a revision and insurance co. (I've changed co.'s since being banded) won't help out, I'll certainly consider Dr. R.

[VegasGrace 1]

Hate that for you.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[socalgal3 4]

Janine-How are you? Post an update! The best thing I can say to do is to keep living as if you were banded. Measure you food, get all you fluids in, exercise, etc. Hopefully, in a few months your stomach will heal and you can be rebanded. I had a slip and it was surgically repaired and things have been great since. They put extra stitches on to prevent it from happening again. Best of health to you.